The cynic in me says, "How Kaggle wastes the time of many talented individuals while enabling corporations to give the finger to their staff."

I should start providing prizes for the best start-up. I'll give you a $20k prize and then turn around and sell it for $1M or more. You can put it on your resume. Win win.

EDIT: Sure, it's good for various things, but it is so detached from the reality that it's a bit out in the thicket. The cynic in me just doesn't get over the value handed over by competitors to the sponsors.